


oops - that's not my name!

by fairyfey



Series: don't want to be famous, just want to know you [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Actor Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - Human, Famous Derek Hale, Fluff, M/M, Masturbation, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Stiles Stilinski maes bad choices, The Hale Family (Teen Wolf) Lives, Yoink!, a silly silly story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:35:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23886805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairyfey/pseuds/fairyfey
Summary: Derek Hale, small town indie film star returns home and begins pining over a man who came to his signing.Stiles Stilinski isn't doing much with his life. When he's forced to attend a signing because Scott is too sick to go himself, he comes face to face with his high school crush who is now famous.Things get a little crazy when the name being signed is Scott McCall and Derek keeps trying to find out exactly who that is.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: don't want to be famous, just want to know you [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721620
Comments: 5
Kudos: 181





	oops - that's not my name!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's been a while. This whole isolation thing really got me thinking about all the fics I have started and not finished, so I chose this and got it done! This was originally for the reverse bang back in 2018 that I had to pull out of. It was inspired by beerwolves - [ (here's a link to the art and the fic that was written!)](https://sterekreversebang.tumblr.com/post/176491435261/beerwolves-my-2nd-entry-to-the)
> 
> p.s yes I know this is like 90% dialogue, I'm not even sorry
> 
> Thank you to @chiaroscurim for being my beta :)

Derek hadn’t talked to his family in person for months, and if he was being honest, he was nervous to see them again. Yes, they had talked on the phone many times, but _seeing_ them—it would be different. He missed them so much—Laura especially. She was his best friend, and navigating the world without her had been hard. She had always been the one who did the talking, so it was very surprising that Derek was the one who got famous for doing exactly that.

He wasn’t a huge star or anything, just what he liked to call “moderately out there.” “ _Oh, but the fans, Derek, the fans!_ ” Laura would always say to him, and yes, okay, he did have fans. But it wasn’t like he was being chased constantly by the paparazzi, getting spotted buying apples from the store and then hordes of tweets being made about how he preferred red apples over green. It wasn’t like that and Derek was damn thankful. He was doing what he loved: appearing on screen and not getting too much attention for it. The biggest downside, however, was the small bit of press he was forced to participate in, especially when it was in his hometown, where, God forbid, people _knew him_.

So, yes, he got to see his family but he had to do a signing at the town hall because “Derek Hale Returns to Bacon Hills, the Place Where It All Started” was an amazing headline that would do wonders for his career (or so his publicist told him). Secretly, Derek didn’t care about furthering his career; he was happy where he was. At least back in Beacon Hills he’d have Laura to talk to and vent all his first-world acting problems to.

* * *

Derek stands behind the door to his family home, ready for the onslaught that will follow as soon as he knocks—and the high-pitched squeals. Everyone is in there waiting for him: his parents and two sisters. Nervously, Derek knocks on the door even though he knows he could just walk in without doing so; it was his childhood home and they wouldn’t mind, but he knocks regardless. It’s Laura who opens the door.

“DEREK’S HOME,” she shouts down the hallway, before turning to face Derek, a grin on her face.

“Hey Laura, long time no see,” Derek says, smiling back and leaning into a hug.

Laura squeezes back tightly, and when Derek pulls away, he sees her smile slip for just a moment.

“Missed you, bro,” she says, moving out of the doorway to let Derek through.

As soon as Derek is inside, Cora practically jumps onto him, hugging him like a koala. His parents watch from a distance, fond smiles on their faces. Once they all give Derek hugs and tell him how much he was missed, they let him go long enough for him to go upstairs and put his bags away.

When he comes back down again, his mother is in the kitchen getting ready to serve dinner. Family dinners are a big deal to her, and throughout his childhood, Derek remembers being interrogated about his life and schoolwork each night, detailing each class and trying hard not to go into any specifics about his friends. Nothing has changed, and Derek knows that he is about to be asked a million questions. They will want to know about every detail from the moment he left. In a way, it’d be nice to talk about it, although he wishes it’d be on his own terms, without incessant questioning.

“Come here, Derek.” His mother beckons him over. “Start taking dishes to the table, please. Cora should be in there setting the table.”

Derek rolls his eyes. It’s like being sixteen all over again. He goes into the dining room to find Cora sitting at the table rapidly texting on her phone. She doesn’t even look up as Derek comes in.

“Over me already?” he jokes, setting down the dishes.

Cora rolls her eyes. “Nope, just tweeting to the world how you love being home. Smile!”

Before Derek can even react, Cora snaps a picture of him. It’s probably terrible, just Derek scowling and standing awkwardly beside the dining table. He really doesn’t need everyone seeing it.

“Jesus, Cora! If you post that, I’m never coming home again.”

Derek crosses his arms, feeling like a child. When it comes to his siblings, it all becomes juvenile quickly.

Soon enough the rest of the family trickles in and dinner is served. As if trying to be polite, his mother questions Cora and Laura about their lives first, leaving Derek for last.

“How long are you going to be back for?” she asks.

Derek chews his food for a moment, thinking of the perfect answer. “I’m not sure yet. I don’t have any new projects lined up just.”

“You can stay for as long as you like, you know that,” Derek’s dad says.

“Yeah, he knows,” Laura says. “The real question here is, do you want us to come to your signing? I happen to know a few thirsty ladies who are desperate to see your ruggedly handsome face.”

“Ew,” Cora mumbles, pulling a disgusted face.

Derek mentally agrees. “No, I think I can handle it.” He doesn’t need any more embarrassment in his life.

* * *

For the past two days, Stiles has been putting up with a sick roommate. Scott has the flu, and honestly? He has been the worst sick person to deal with. He groans every five minutes, constantly whines, and worst of all, he doesn’t like Stiles’ soup. What is a best friend supposed to do in this situation? Stiles is trying his best, only rolling his eyes when Scott isn’t looking, tucking a blanket around him, and even putting fluffy socks on his feet.

Stiles is coming to the end of his patience when Scott almost starts crying. Surely it’s all the snot messing with his head or the fever making him crazy, but Scott grabs his hand tightly and sobs something about a “Derek Hale.”

“Stiles, you have to go,” he says, puppy eyes on full blast. “You have to take my place, man.”

“Go where?” Stiles asks, genuinely confused, wondering if Scott is hallucinating.

Scott groans loudly. “To the signing! It’s Derek Hale, he’s back in town and I _need_ my poster signed.”

In the back of Stiles’ mind, the name Derek Hale seems very familiar, but he can’t quite put a finger on it. He is obviously someone famous, or as famous as you can be coming from Beacon Hills, and Scott had definitely said “back in town.” It’s really bothering Stiles, the name itching in the back of his head, screaming at him that it’s obvious.

“I don’t know, I’ve got a lot to get done,” he says.

Scott howls out a wet wailing sound. “Stiles! He’s so cool and he’s actually from here, a real famous person. You remember him, right? He was so awesome, even back then.”

Even back then? Stiles is seriously concerned about his memory. His confusion must travel to his face, as Scott huff impatiently.

“You seriously don’t remember the Hot Basketball Guy from sophomore year?”

Oooooohhhh. Hot Basketball Guy. Stiles did remember him, but he wasn’t sure he ever knew his name. Knowing that Scott wants him to go see Derek, the guy he used to drool over when he was sixteen, makes the task that much more undesirable. But also…in the back of his mind, the chance to see his old crush is kind of appealing. It would be interesting to see what they had turned out to be…or to look like. It was a conflicting scenario.

“Stiles, please, I’ll owe you big time,” Scott says, bringing Stiles out of his thoughts.

“Uhh, sure,” Stiles starts. “What do I need to do?”

Scott grins at him. “You just gotta get my poster signed, easy peasy!”

Easy peasy. Meet the only famous person from Beacon Hills, pretend he didn’t used to jerk off to their biceps, and walk out of there without making a fool of himself. Totally easy.

* * *

As Derek wakes up in the morning, he lays in a comfy cloud of bliss, forgetting what the day entails. The happiness only lasts two minutes as the memory of his signing in the town hall comes painfully back to him.

On one hand, it would be nice to see the fans and know someone appreciated his work. But on the other hand, some people were creepy. Some had no boundaries, gave him phone numbers he never looked at or told him disturbing details of their private fantasies. There are some things Derek could never unhear or unsee.

Derek flops open his comforter and heaves himself out of bed, making his way to the shower.

Throughout the whole morning he gives himself a silent pep talk, saying to himself things like _it will be over before you know it_ and _maybe it won’t be as bad as you think_. His family can tell he’s nervous and a little grumpy, so they give him a wide berth, his mother even making him breakfast for the first time in years just to make him feel better. But before he knows it, it’s time to leave. He says goodbye to everyone and forces himself out the door.

The town hall isn’t that far away and when Derek arrives, he sees a crowd of people milling around the steps. Taking a deep breath, Derek pulls himself from the safety of his car and marches up the steps to the front doors. As fast as he can without drawing too much attention to himself, Derek slips inside. Everyone in the room turns their heads towards him.

“Derek Hale! You’re here! We were just setting everything up, come have a seat,” a town hall volunteers says to him, looking a little nervous. “Can I get you anything?”

Derek tries to give him a comforting look, but most people said he still looked a little scary or weird when he did that. “Um, I’m good thanks.”

Derek makes his way over to the small table where he’ll be spending his day. There are piles of posters and several sharpies (in different colors, as any respectable poster signing would have). Derek places his drink bottle on the table and sits down, counting down until it’s eleven o’clock and he’ll have to socialize. Before he knows it, the volunteer is coming back to him and telling him it’s time to open the doors. Derek sits up straight and takes a deep breath: It’s time to get it over with.

The first few people are fine, no weird hiccups or anything that makes Derek uncomfortable. But then Mrs.. Benson, an old lady Derek has known since childhood, approaches him. Inwardly, Derek groans, but on the outside, he forces a smile onto his face.

“Hi, Mrs. Benson, how’ve you been?” Derek asks as he begins signing a photo for her, although he knows for a fact that she already has one.

“I’ve been good, dear. Not up to much as I’m just a bored old lady, you know how it is.” She takes the photo from him when he’s done. “Oh, look at that! You are just so handsome!”

Mrs. Benson is beginning to hold up the line. Past the few other old ladies standing behind her, a young man is peeking his head around the crowds, looking impatient. Mrs. Benson lets out a small cough and Derek realises she’s complimented him and he hasn’t replied or said thank you. 

“Um, thanks Mrs. Benson. Anything else I can do for you?”

An unsettling grin forms on her face. “Actually, I just wanted you to know my granddaughter is single and she’s such a lovely lady—I think you two would get along so well!” Derek has no idea how to reply, but luckily, he doesn’t have to, as Mrs. Benson continues. “I’ll just leave you her number and be on my way.”

Mrs. Benson slides a piece of paper across the table and pats it gently before taking her photo and leaving. Derek lets out a shaky breath, hardly paying attention as he signs the next few photos. He should have gotten used to all the craziness a long time ago, but things like that? He’s never really figured out how to deal with them.

He had always thought that it was dumb that people could be so in love with his image and not realise what they were saying was nuts or embarrassing or just rude. People tend to lose their brains around fame, and it made Derek feel gross.

* * *

The line was taking forever, and Stiles just wanted to go home, but he knew if he came back empty-handed Scott would kill him. Or at least give him the worst puppy dog eyes ever. Some old lady at the front of the line held everyone up and from peeking around, Stiles could see Derek Hale looking super uncomfortable as he spoke to her. When she left, Derek looked so relieved that Stiles kind of felt sorry for him. At least the line began moving, and before he knew it, Stiles stood awkwardly in front of Derek and all he could think was “ _uuuuhhh_.”

“What’s your name?” Derek asks, obviously taking pity on Stiles as he stood there frozen, secretly taking in every detail of his goddamn face.

“Huh?” he says stupidly.

“Who should I make it out to?” Derek asks, his eyes crinkling adorably as he smiles. “For the signature.”

“Oh!” Stiles looks away from Derek quickly, snapping himself out of it. “Um, Scott. You don’t, like, need the last name, do you?”

Derek looks like he’s about to laugh and Stiles knows it’s because it’s obvious he hasn’t been to a signing before. He’s asking dumb questions and probably breaking signing table protocol.

“Just to be safe, why not.”

“McCall, Scott McCall.”

Derek nods and gets to work. By the time Stiles looks back at Derek, he’s finishing with a flick of his wrist, and rolling up the poster. 

“There you go, Scott,” he says, handing over the poster. “Have a good day, and I’ll see you around.”

Stiles nods dumbly and walks out of the hall. It’s not until he’s walking down the steps that he realises what Derek said. He had called him Scott. Derek thought he was Scott. The thought made Stiles weirdly upset, almost like he wanted to run back inside and yell that that wasn’t who he was.

But then he remembered the other thing Derek had said. “I’ll see you around.” See him around? Did that mean Derek was staying in Beacon Hills, that at some point he would see Stiles again and, thinking that he was Scott, say hello? Stiles hoped so.

* * *

As the day was winding down and the room was being packed up, Derek assessed the situation and tried to locate the back door. An exit strategy was very important, especially when creepy stalker fans would be waiting outside. He’d texted Laura ten minutes ago to meet him out back, which thinking about it now seemed a little suss. While he waits, he opens Instagram and searches for “Scott McCall.”

He clicks on the first person that pops up and is confused when the profile picture is of some tan-skinned, floppy haired man. Luckily the account is public, and Derek’s able to scroll through the photos. There are a lot of animals and people Derek assumes are Scott’s friends. Scott himself is always in the photo with the floppy haired guy, no selfies or anything. Derek frowns, maybe it’s a best friend but maybe…maybe it’s a significant other.

Trying not to overthink it all, Derek closes the app and pushes it from his mind. It’s just a cute guy—no big deal. There were heaps of them. Granted, there weren’t many people that were his type in his hometown, but that didn’t matter.

Laura texts him that she’s out the back and Derek quickly says goodbye to the volunteers and leaves the hall. Derek practically jumps into the car, so relieved to be done with the day.

“You all good champ?” Laura asks, removing a hand from the steering wheel to thump Derek’s shoulder.

Derek winces. “I’m fine, just tired. Mrs. Benson gave me her granddaughter’s number.”

Laura cackles at that. “She’s so desperate, but Mindy _is_ pretty cute.”

Of course. Laura knows who the granddaughter is. Perks of working at the only bar in town—she knew everyone and got a lot of gossip and drunk confessions.

“I don’t want to date Mindy,” Derek says. “You should know that.”

“Ugh, yeah yeah, you don’t date, you have no heart and obviously no sex drive if you can’t even have like, a fling or one-night stand.”

“Why do even care?” Derek is way too tired for this conversation.

“Because you’re so lonely! All you do is spend time by yourself and it’s sad.”

“Gee, thanks. It’s none of your business, and you know what? I could be interested in dating or—or sex, you wouldn’t even know because all you do is assume things.”

Laura gives him a side eye at that screams _as if_ and Derek mumbles out a whatever. A small part of him wants to tell Laura that he’d seen a cute guy and felt things about him—which was so weird because he didn’t even know him. But he knows she’d just make fun. He was in this alone, and he would figure out what his heart and brain was telling him.

They get home and eat dinner as a family again, and as much as Derek enjoys being around his family again, h’s thankful when he’s finally able to sit down and relax on the couch. He pulls out his phone, this time opening Facebook and once again searching for Scott McCall. He’s so lost in scrolling through almost all the same photos as the Instagram page had that he doesn’t realise Cora is standing behind him.

“What are you doing?” she asks, making him jolt. “Are you Facebook stalking?”

“Fuck off, Cora,” Derek says. It was always best to take the direct approach with her.

Cora makes a weird growling noise that alerts Derek that he’s pissed her off and then she snatches his phone.

“Give it back!” He wasn’t going to beg. Yet.

Cora squints at the phone, ignoring him. “Who the fuck is Scott McCall? And why does he look so familiar?”

“He’s no one, give it back.”

Cora looks him in the eye and gives the phone back but doesn’t leave. “Do you like this guy or something? He has weird hair. And Derek…” Cora gives him a look filled with pity. “If you didn’t notice, he’s with a girl in like, a heap of photos. It also clearly says he’s in a relationship with an Allison Argent.”

Derek tries to ignore the last thing Cora says. He had been too busy crossing his fingers that Scott would be gay that he completely glossed over his girlfriend. Damn.

“What do you mean he has bad hair?” is all he says.

Cora rolls her eyes. “It’s weird. Floppy.”

Relief floods through Derek and he laughs like a crazy person. “Oh! No, Cora, not the floppy hair guy! I meant the pale one, with the cute little moles on his cheeks!”

“Gimme the phone back.” Cora makes grabby hands and for some reason, Derek gives it to her.

She looks at it for a good five minutes, scrolling and tapping and Derek starts to feel anxious. What’s the problem?

“Are you sure the pale one is Scott? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. There’s less photos of him and it says he’s in a relationship with this Allison, but only Mr. Floppy is with her.”

“I know it’s really strange, but he said he was Scott. Maybe he just really loves his best friend and his best friend’s girlfriend a lot? Maybe…the relationship status was a mistake?” Derek knows he’s grasping at straws and that it’s kind of dumb considering he might never see the guy again, but he says it anyway.

Cora seems to feel sorry for him, which has to be a first. All she says is, “We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

The day after the signing, Scott is feeling better, so Stiles feels less guilty about not paying much attention to him. They’d made plans to go out for lunch with Allison and Lydia, but since Scott is still somewhat ill, they decide to just have the girls over at their place and relax. Stiles forces Scott to get up and move, cleaning up the place along with Stiles. Scott has spent almost a whole week on the couch, so Stiles doesn’t feel that guilty for making him move—plus Lydia and Allison seem to approve of both a clean space and seeing Scott up and about.

Stiles can’t help but ask about Derek Hale while they’re all sitting at the little dining table. Lydia will know all the gossip, and obviously Scott is a fan. He just wants to know more…Maybe to see what happened to his crush after he left high school, or maybe because he still likes his face and wants to maybe “accidentally” run into him.

“Um, so what’s the deal with Derek Hale?” he asks when there is a lull in the conversation.

Lydia immediately narrows her eyes at him, alarm bells ringing as she wonders why Stiles would be interested in celebrity gossip. Scott just looks happy that Stiles was taking an interest in one of his obsessions. Stiles has no idea if Allison is invested as Scott, but they’re a couple and couples share that kind of stuff, right?

“Well, he grew up here. He’s only a few years older than us, actually. His parents are quite wealthy; his mother is a great lawyer, and I’ve heard she often gets called out all over the place and their father is a doctor—surgeon, I think. Oh, his sister runs the bar in town?” They all nod. “Anyway, he started acting after high school, only small stuff and then he just got bigger within the indie industry.”

Lydia’s eyes sparkle and they all know there is more to come.

“There was a scandal, too. One of his girlfriends was crazy and when he broke up with her, she wanted to ruin his life or some crap and she robbed him. It all worked out though, she’s in jail and Derek is still…rich. And back in town, for who knows how long.”

Stiles nods, taking in the valuable information and Scott gives him a sly look.

“Stiles! You just wanted to know more about him because you still think he’s hot! Ugh, your crushes last for so long!”

“Hey!” Stiles said, annoyed. It totally wasn’t true, at all. No way.

“What do you mean still think he’s hot? Did you know him?” Lydia asks, instantly curious and needing every piece of information she can get her hands on.

Stiles wants to leave the table when Allison starts giggling. “He’s Hot Basketball Guy, isn’t he?”

Scott nods, giggling with her. God they were annoying—it wasn’t that funny.

“What am I missing?” Lydia asks, impatiently rapping her nails on the table.

Stiles jumps in before anyone else can say anything. “Nothing. I just thought he was hot in high school. It was nothing. I went to a few of his games. It was dumb. Anyway, when I was forced,” Stiles glares at Scott, “to go to that signing, I came face to face with him like a blast from the past and now he thinks I’m Scott!”

There was silence at the table. All of them looked confused.

“Wait, dude, what do you mean?” Scott asks.

Stiles sighs. “I mean he asked my name so he could sign the photo and I said Scott because the photo was for you and then he said ‘see you around, Scott’ and now I have to leave the country.”

“Calm down, Stiles.” Lydia rolls her eyes. “It’s just a small misunderstanding. I’m sure when you run into him again, you can just correct him.”

Stiles scoffs at that. “I don’t think I’m going to just _run into him_.”

Allison pats his arm gently. “You never know what will happen.”

They drop that topic of conversation and move on to celebrating Scott slowly getting better. Lydia suggests they go out for drinks that weekend and whilst Stiles is totally in, he remembers that Laura Hale works there, and that fact gives him a weird sense of hope.

* * *

Derek is bored. Laura had all but forced him and Cora to spend the night at her bar, which for them just involved routinely getting discounted drinks and sitting in a dark corner. However, things were looking up when a group entered, and Scott was right there.

“Oh my god,” Derek mutters, pushing himself further into the corner as if Scott would look at him and somehow tell he had been creepily stalking him online.

Cora immediately looks up, wanting to see what Derek is freaking out about.

“Derek, this is the perfect opportunity!” she says once she lays eyes on the group.

Sure, it _is_ a perfect opportunity, but no way is Derek going to approach Scott _and_ his friends and make a fool of himself with an audience. Anxiety is creeping its way into Derek’s system, making his stomach tight. He wants so badly to talk to Scott, to get to know him. He looks happy and kind and beautiful and it scares him.

Derek takes a deep breath. “I have to talk to him when he’s alone.”

Cora nods like it’s reasonable. “Okay, just wait until he goes to the bar or something. Speaking of, I’m getting a new drink. Be back in a sec.”

Derek keeps his eyes on the group and watches as they toast to something, obviously celebrating. After what seems like forever, and after Cora has made it back with not only a drink for herself but Derek too, Stiles rises from his seat and makes his way over to the bar.

Cora elbows Derek and glares at him. “If you don’t go over there, I will fucking kill you.”

Derek doesn’t need convincing. Pushing his fears and anxiety away he makes his way over to the bar where Scott is waiting.

* * *

Someone clears their throat next to Stiles, and he turns to come face to face with Derek.

“Hi! Derek Hale!” Stiles says, surprised.

Derek’s cheeks turn pink. “That’s me. Uh, how are you?”

Stiles struggles to find his words. His mind is screaming at him to tell Derek who he really is, but he just can’t do it—he’s seeing him again so suddenly and he just can’t make himself do it. He hadn’t come prepared at all, and he was totally going to make a fool of himself if he tries to explain himself.

“I am good, I’m so good,” Stiles says, mentally cringing at his words. “How about you?”

“I’m good too. My sister forced me and my other sister to come out tonight. Guess it was lucky she did,” Derek says shyly.

“Of course, Laura! She’s cool,” Stiles blurts out. “I mean, I’m guessing. Maybe she’s not. Jesus.”

Derek shrugs. “She’s okay. But she does know I don’t like going at much, so that’s not nice.”

They get talking and it’s awkward but it’s nice. They do the usual thing—“ _How’s your night?” “What do you do?”_ and _“What do you enjoy?”_ Derek is shy and stutters sometimes and then blushes, and Stiles thinks it’s the best thing he’s ever seen. He can’t help but think about how much he wants to kiss him, wants to learn how far the blush would go down, to hear Derek stutter in ways he couldn’t help, calling out Stiles’ name.

Stiles has to push those thoughts aside because it’s just the beginning and they’ve only really just met, and Derek doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d have sex without a solid foundation.

But then they reach a lull in the conversation and things start to get…weird. Derek looks like he’s struggling, maybe reaching for a conversation topic and then he comes out with, “So, uh, do you like animals?”

It takes Stiles a moment to realise that yeah, _Scott_ would like animals, but he’s indifferent. He had a pet dog when he was a young kid, but that covers it. And the fact that Derek knows somehow to bring this topic up, means that he’s been searching for Scott McCall and encountered Scott’s animal infested Instagram or Facebook. Stiles begins to panic because he should really just tell Derek already but now, he’s gone this far and what if Derek likes the Scott persona? What if this whole animal thing is a deal breaker?

“Scott?” Derek asks, and Stiles realises he must have just been sitting there intensely thinking or looking mildly panicked.

“Um, yeah not really? Animals aren’t my, uh, thing,” Stiles says slowly. “I can’t even take care of a plant.”

For a moment Derek just looks confused, but then it turns into a look of surprise.

“Me too. I had a pet fish once. I thought it would be quite low maintenance, but I still forgot to feed him occasionally.”

By this point they’ve been talking for at least fifteen minutes and Stiles remembers he was supposed get the drinks and bring them back, but he’s just been standing there jabbering on and his friends are most likely getting annoyed.

“Okay Derek, as much as it was really, _really_ nice to talk to you, I have to bring these drinks to my friends.” Derek’s face falls, so Stiles quickly continues. “But I’ll give you my number and we can maybe talk again? Without people waiting on us.”

Derek looks happy at this idea and hands over his phone gladly. Stiles puts in his number and says goodbye, making his way back over to his table. When he gets back, Lydia gives him a knowing look and Stiles rolls his eyes, because of course Lydia was watching him the whole time.

“So, did you tell him you aren’t Scott?” she asks.

Stiles can’t look her in the eye. “Not exactly.”

Lydia throws her hands up in the air, her faith in Stiles evaporating—if it was even there to begin with.

* * *

Derek takes a second for himself before heading back to Cora. He knows she’s going to ask a million questions and he’s not sure he has all the answers. In fact, he has so many questions himself.

“Well?” Cora asks as soon as Derek drops into his seat.

He decides to start with the good news. “I got his number!”

“That’s awesome, Derek!” Cora slaps him on the arm excitedly. “But why do you look a little bit angsty about this? You should be happy and doing shots!”

As if Derek would start doing shots. He was a responsible adult with an image to uphold. He didn’t need the world thinking he was some wild party animal.

“He was just, I don’t know, a little odd.” Cora looks confused, so he continues. “I tried to talk to him about animals, because of his Facebook, you know? But he doesn’t even like animals! In fact, he looked confused as to why I would even ask.”

Cora chews on her lip, her thinking face on. “That is really weird. I totally stalked his Instagram and it said right in his bio that he loves taking care of animals. Something is up, bro.”

Derek groans and is tempted to bang his head on the table. It shouldn’t be so complicated. Later, when they’re leaving the bar and Cora is driving home, Derek’s phone pings with a text. When he fishes his phone out of his pocket, it’s a text from Scott (who for some reason put his name in his phone with a little duck emoji next to it).

> _We should prbly talk. Abt things. Um, I’ll explain – call me tmrw?_

Derek hopes he’ll get some answers.

* * *

Stiles may or may not have had one too many drinks. He blames his denial surrounding the whole Derek situation. Lydia dragged him home, shoved him through the door and told him to get over himself. It stung a little and would probably hurt more if it wasn’t so damn true.

Instead of doing anything too rash, Stiles decides to text Derek. He needs to talk to him, to set things straight. Hopefully Derek noticed something was up and asks about it and Stiles doesn’t have to outright force himself to tell the whole weird truth.

Stiles shuffles out of his pants and flings his shirt across his bedroom floor, flopping onto his bed and dragging his laptop onto his stomach. Without thinking, he opens Instagram and scrolls through Derek’s profile. Stiles can’t stop looking at his face, at his beard, and thinking about the way it would feel against his cheek, how it would feel if they kissed. He scrolls down to photos of Derek when he was in some kind of organic-health-fitness-magazine, which is all _very_ Derek. But it’s just not fair because there Derek is, all shirtless and sweaty and, God, Stiles just wants to touch him.

Feeling a little guilty, Stiles slides his hand into his boxers, palming his quickly hardening dick. It’s embarrassing how quickly he gets off to pictures of Derek doing exercise. It’s not his proudest moment and he really wonders how he’s ever going to look Derek in the eye—if they ever see each other again, that is. Coming down from the orgasm high, Stiles is suddenly reminded of his high school days mooning over Derek and how nothing much has really changed. He’s still sexually frustrated and crushing hard on someone he can’t have.

* * *

The thing is, Scott never specified when Derek should call him. He’s an early riser and he knows that not everyone enjoys getting up at seven-thirty in the morning, especially not on a Sunday. Derek fluffs around for hours; he goes for a run and thankfully no one’s around to bother him for once. He waits until ten, a time he thinks most people would be awake, right?

His stomach is in knots when he calls Scott. When it just keeps ringing, he wants to be sick. Scott doesn’t pick up, which both relieves Derek and freaks him out. Maybe Scott loves sleeping in on the weekend or maybe he just regrets giving Derek his number?

A second later and the phone is ringing again, Scotts name is flashing on the screen. Shrugging, Derek answers the call.

“Hello?” Derek says, almost cautiously.

“Hi,” Scott says. “Um, I saw you call and I kind of panicked.”

Derek frowns slightly. The text last night already had him stressed and now Scott’s anxious tone had him even more freaked out. “Why?”

“Because I have to tell you something. And I know is sounds so serious right now, but I swear, you’ll laugh when I tell you. I think. I mean, I hope.”

“You should just say it then,” Derek says, not ready to laugh or even smile just yet.

“Look, I went to your signing for my friend Scott. I’m not Scott. I just said his name because that’s who you were signing the picture for and then you kept calling me Scott and I felt terrible and I didn’t know what to do and I just left it for too long! My name is Stiles and I mean, I haven’t liked pretended to be Scott or anything –“

Derek hangs up. He doesn’t hang up because he’s mad or angry – he’s just embarrassed.

Scott—no, _Stiles_ is calling him again. Derek takes a deep breath and accepts the call. “What,” he practically growls.

“Derek, I’m so sorry! I really like you and I didn’t want to screw this up and God, I used to have a huge crush on you when I was sixteen! I saw you again and it was freaky, and I just screwed it all up.” Stiles sighs, defeated. “Please forgive me.”

Derek’s brain feels like it’s being overloaded with a bunch of weird information all at once. Scott isn’t Scott, it’s actually Stiles. And Stiles lied. And Stiles had a crush on him when he was sixteen.

“You had a crush on me?” Derek asks, dumbfounded.

“I kind of still do,” Stiles whispers. “But that doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?”

“Wait, how did you have a crush on me when you were sixteen?” Derek is still trying to wrap his head around it all.

“Oh. Well, I’ve lived in Beacon Hills my whole life. I went to the same high school as you. I was a fan of the basketball team.”

“Oh,” Derek says.

“Yeah,” Stiles agrees.

“Look, um—Stiles, can you just, give a day or two? This is all a bit strange.”

Stiles practically yells his response. “Of course! Anything. Okay, I’ll wait. When you’re ready.”

“Okay, well, bye then.” Derek hangs up. He stands in the kitchen unmoving for what feels like an hour.

Cora walks into the kitchen, obviously home from wherever she was. “What happened to you?”

* * *

“Scott! Scooott!!” Stiles yells from where he’s lying on the floor in the kitchen.

Scott runs out of his room looking panicked. “What? What’s going on?”

Stiles pouts. “I did it. It sucks and I suck and everything just sucks.”

Stiles doesn’t want to get off the floor. He wasn’t fully awake when Derek had called, and he’d panicked and rejected the call. Obviously, that was his first mistake.

“Stiles, you pretended to be me. Let him take it all in.”

Stiles points his finger at Scott. “Hey, I didn’t pretend to be you, I just gave him a different name. It’s not that bad!”

Scott shakes his head. “You don’t get to decide how he feels about it.”

Stiles knows he’s right. But he just wants to get to know Derek and Derek to know him—Stiles. He’s wanted it for so long and he’s not going to give up.

* * *

“Derek what are you moping about now? Has Scott done something?” Cora asks, rudely jabbing him with her foot as they sit on the couch together.

Laura stops scrolling on her phone and not so subtly begins listening in.

“I’m not moping.” Cora raises an eyebrow and Laura covers a snigger with a cough. “Fine. I’m a bit upset.”

“Go on,” Cora prompts, with another jab.

Taking a deep breath, Derek tells them everything. “You were right—something was up with him. His social media didn’t add up because his name isn’t Scott, it’s Stiles.”

“Wait – Stiles? Why does that name sound weirdly familiar?” Cora asks.

“He was tagged in all those photos. God it seems so obvious now—Scott _is_ that guy with the floppy hair. Stiles was just always the best friend in those photos.”

“Why would he lie to you?” Laura says, looking angry.

“Stiles was getting a poster signed for Scott and just got caught up in the lie.” He shrugs.

Cora wiggles up the couch to squish up against Derek. “That’s no excuse. I knew something was fishy.”

“What happens now?” Laura asks.

“I’m not sure.”

“We kill him,” Cora whispers.

* * *

Stiles is tired. He’s been anxiously waiting for Derek to call for a week, holding onto his phone at all times, the ringer on loud. Scott’s annoyed at him because he can’t focus on anything—not the TV shows they watch together or the games they play. Stiles is also sure Lydia isn’t speaking to him until the whole mess is fixed. But Stiles feels like it’s out of his hands, and there’s nothing he can do right now.

To pay for his sin of being distracted, Scott sends Stiles off to the grocery store to do the shopping, list in hand. It’s probably the first time Stiles has been out of the house in a few days. He’s slowly walking down the cereal aisle and ignoring all the sweet things he wants so badly to buy when he sees it: Derek’s butt. Stiles almost falls over.

Stiles knows he has to give Derek space, has to keep a distance, so he takes his eyes off his ass and turns around. Stiles hurries in the opposite direction, going straight down the other side of the store. He doesn’t make it far.

“Stiles?” Derek’s surprised voice calls out to him.

Stiles swings around and plasters a smile on his face. “Derek! Fancy seeing you here!”

Derek looks like he’s about to laugh but says, “It’s a happy coincidence.”

On the inside, Stiles breathes a sigh of relief. He half expected Derek to be angry and finally have a word with him face to face. Stiles doesn’t really know how to act.

“How are you?” he asks.

Derek frowns. “I’ve been okay. I wanted to text you a while ago, but I had to think.”

Stiles swallows hard, trying to keep his emotions in check. “Yeah, um, that’s fair enough.”

“But I think we should talk,” Derek says, and Stiles almost drops the groceries in his hands. “Maybe you could come over to my place—I don’t really want any paparazzi or creepy locals watching me.”

The idea of being in Derek’s space, seeing him in his natural habitat makes Stiles almost yell out a “Yes!” but he manages to keep his voice level.

“Good. Come over tomorrow—in the afternoon.” Derek says and waves goodbye, leaving Stiles standing awkwardly in the middle of the aisle, mouth hanging open.

* * *

“You know, being abandoned in the frozen food aisle isn’t that nice,” Laura complains, pushing into Derek’s legs.

“Stop it.” Derek pushes the cart away. “I had to talk to Stiles.”

Laura freezes. “He’s here? Where? I wanna kick him.”

“You can kick him tomorrow. He’s coming over to talk.” Derek grabs the handles of the cart and takes it away from Laura before she can do anymore damage.

“Seriously?” Laura asks. “Finally getting some closure?”

Derek shrugs, walking down the aisle. “I don’t think closure is the right word. Maybe I we can still be friends…or something. I don’t know. And I wasn’t serious, you can’t kick him.”

Laura pouts but doesn’t poke any more fun. They make it out of the store without any more Stiles talk and only several things being pushed off the shelves by Laura. When they get home, Derek tells his parents that Stiles will be visiting, as it is their house after all. Derek’s mom seems happy about it all and promises to leave them alone. It kind of makes Derek feel like he’s sixteen and having a friend over.

He gets Laura and Cora to promise to back off—at least until the important conversations are over. Derek knows he won’t be able to have an honest conversation if he knows they are listening in.

* * *

“SCOTT!” Stiles yells as he enters their apartment. “I have news!”

Scott, who seems to have fallen asleep on the couch, almost falls to the floor. “What?”

Stiles dumps the groceries down in the kitchen and hurries over to the couch. He makes sure Scott is sitting upright before he continues.

“I ran into Derek at the store.”

Scott gasps. “I did this—I told you to go. I’m totally psychic.”

“What?” Stiles says. “Shut up. That’s not even the important part. I’m going to see him tomorrow. At his house!”

Scott whacks Stiles’ arm enthusiastically. “Stiles! That’s great news, right? You’ll finally be able to talk, maybe uh, explain yourself better.”

“Yeah.” Stiles frowned. “Or he could just be saying goodbye. You know like, I never want to talk to you again after this.”

“Negative thinking will get you nowhere.”

Stiles nods, but he’s suddenly distracted by his thoughts. What if it is something bad? What if Derek tells him that Stiles can never contact him again, that he’s done something really fucked up. It didn’t seem like a huge deal to Stiles, but Derek has been hurt before and maybe little things like this weren’t just small.

Stiles tries to push his thoughts aside and not worry about things until tomorrow—until whatever happens, happens.

* * *

Stiles drives to Derek’s parents’ house. It’s farther out of town, down a creepy dirt road and surrounded by trees. Stiles feels like he’s going somewhere to get murdered. He drives up the driveway and parks, giving himself a pep talk in the rearview mirror. He walks up the front door feeling jittery and rings the bell. The door opens immediately, revealing Cora.

“Ah, hello little liar,” she says, a grin on her face. “Welcome. Just a warning, Laura wants to kick you.”

She steps aside and beckons Stiles inside but Stiles kind of doesn’t want to go. Obviously, Cora and Laura hate him, and they don’t seem like the forgiving type. Stiles is lead through the house to the lounge, where Derek is sitting and looking anxious. Stiles feels like he’s being led to his execution and tries to lighten the situation by opening his mouth.

“Hey, Derek!” he says. “Nice house!”

Derek cracks a smile and Cora slinks away to who knows where. Stiles moves to sit next to Derek, awkwardly perching himself on the couch.

“I know this is all kind of strange,” Derek starts. “But I just wanted to be comfortable—people take pictures of me, and they don’t care if I’m having a breakdown.”

“ _Are_ you going to have a breakdown?” Stiles asks. “I was more prepared for you to yell at me.”

“I’m not going to yell at you,” Derek says. “I just wanted to tell you what I was thinking about the whole, ah, Scott thing.”

Stiles cringed. He wasn’t going to get used to it. It still sounded weird and fucked up. “Go ahead.”

“Look, I think what you did was strange, but in the end, the only thing you really lied about was your name. I like to believe the way you act and everything we talked about at the bar and since, has been all you. Stiles.” Derek looks at him to confirm.

Stiles can’t believe what he’s hearing—that maybe Derek can forgive him? Move past it? Understand what happened? He’ll take anything.

“Yes! Yes, that is all me. I’m not like Scott at all,” Stiles says. “I’m not good with animals, I swear all the time, I have better hair, and I would never get sick and force my friend to go to a signing!”

Derek raises his eyebrows. “Good to know.”

“So.” Stiles bites his lip nervously. “What happens now?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date?”

“YES.” Stiles practically jumps off the couch, and he’s sure everyone in the house heard his response.

Derek’s grinning, but narrows his eyes when Cora enters the room.

“You can’t blame me for eavesdropping when he screams like that,” she says, a smirk on her face.

“I’m going on a date with Derek Hale!” Stiles says to himself. “I think sixteen-year-old me is jealous.”

“You’re going to have to tell me more about this crush, you know,” Derek says. “But we can save it for the first date.”

First date. Stiles’ heart is thumping loudly in his chest—both excited and terribly anxious. Suddenly all the drama and the mix-ups seem worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah ha! Fear not...I will be writing some extra scenes if you are wanting more - i know this ending is abrupt. Some cute dates and kisses will be coming ;)


End file.
